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I just had an interesting convo with a buddy of mine who has a cc with 5.5 bed. He told me that he had no problem loading mulch as the mulch place loads it diagonally. Although he said that he can only bring a scoop at a time, whereas I can easily dump two scoops in my 6.5ft bed. Now the topsoil is a different matter because I hitvyhe weight capacity with 1 scoop sooner than the colume.
aaargh, such a hard decision. Love the flexibility of long bed but crew cab woild be a real nice too.
I'm getting ready to buy a Super Crew 2018 F150 and it will have the 6.5' bed on it. I don't know about others who opted for the 5.5' bed but I use my truck for Hunting and Fishing and for hauling stuff and the 5.5' bed just doesn't work for me.
I want to be able to jump in the bed under the camper shell and be able to sleep in there if needed. My longer rods wont fit in the smaller bed. My Antelope blind wont fit and 4 wheelers do not fit in the smaller bed without the tail gate down.
Why anyone would want that smaller bed on a truck makes no sense to me but I see plenty of them.
I would say that my ext cab is not that bad and afaik the new models have full seatbelts and all. I asked wife and she doesn't mind at all riding in the back when we had to. And also have hauled people on a 6-7 hour trip. May be a wise tradeoff. I really want it as a truck 1st and second car 2nd.
The roominess of the back seat is going to depend on the size of the people in front and back. I'm 6'5", so my driver's seat must be all the way back. That doesn't leave much room for an adult behind it in an ext cab. And for people my size, the back seat of an ext cab is very uncomfortable, regardless of how far forward you put the front seat. The back seat of a Ford Crew is very comfortable for me. They seem to have the most leg room of all the pickups now, both front and rear.
I'm getting ready to buy a Super Crew 2018 F150 and it will have the 6.5' bed on it. I don't know about others who opted for the 5.5' bed but I use my truck for Hunting and Fishing and for hauling stuff and the 5.5' bed just doesn't work for me.
I want to be able to jump in the bed under the camper shell and be able to sleep in there if needed. My longer rods wont fit in the smaller bed. My Antelope blind wont fit and 4 wheelers do not fit in the smaller bed without the tail gate down.
Why anyone would want that smaller bed on a truck makes no sense to me but I see plenty of them.
I agree with yo on the bed lenght but most buy the shorter bed becase that is all that will fit in their garage and also a little easier to park, or so they say. I have had both and I prefer the longer bed put they are very hard to find here in this area on a lot especialy Lariat trim and above. I suppose I will order my next, and most likely, my last truck I will ever buy. If I decide to ever trade this one, I really don't camp (I do fish all night on occasion) only my 2 longest surf rods won't fit in the bed diagonally, all my fresh water rods fit.
I agree with yo on the bed lenght but most buy the shorter bed becase that is all that will fit in their garage and also a little easier to park, or so they say. I have had both and I prefer the longer bed put they are very hard to find here in this area on a lot especialy Lariat trim and above. I suppose I will order my next, and most likely, my last truck I will ever buy. If I decide to ever trade this one, I really don't camp (I do fish all night on occasion) only my 2 longest surf rods won't fit in the bed diagonally, all my fresh water rods fit.
I've never even seen a Crew 6.5 on a lot in my AO, so they are definitely uncommon. Most salesman will try to talk you out of ordering, because they want to sell their inventory. Just don't let them push you around, and get what you want.
Just saw two 6.5' bed F150s in the same parking lot when we went out to eat tonight. I guess it's a regional thing. I bought mine out of dealer stock. All I have to say is if you want one, search dealers in San Antonio.
As far as why would anyone have a 5.5' bed...A lot of people just like driving a truck and want it in a more practical size. I've had 2 trucks with the extra short bed. I just pulled a trailer when needed. 99% of the time a 5.5' bed was fine. I have a 6.5 bed now. I like it, like the way it looks, it fits my 7' fishing rods with the tailgate closed. Parking it usually sucks though. Even my 6.5' bed Super Duty was easier to maneuver than this truck, as it turned sharper. I had a 6.5' bed f150 before, so I knew what i was getting into. BTW I bought that 6.5' F150 from dealer stock too. Most every dealer has a couple or more here.
I got the short bed for a couple reasons -
1) That's all you can get with the Raptor
2) I do more light duty hauling and trailer towing than heavy hauling anymore.
Our 04, 13, and now 18 all have the 6.5. All ordered trucks and never even considered a 5.5. If I wanted a bed that short I'd get an old Chev SSR to carry my golf clubs.
I have the 5.5' bed only because there was not a single 6.5' bed Crew Cab Lariat at any of the 9 Ford dealerships in San Diego and I don't have the patience to wait for a special order. Added a Bed Rug and tonneau cover so I have a short bed but a gigantic trunk! If I need to haul anything significant, I break out my LB Super Duty. If having a second truck or a trailer isn't an option, get a 6.5' bed.
I have a 5.5 bed 2016 which replaced a 6.6 bed 2005. It's really frustrating trying to put a 6 ft. ladder in this truck! I hate to try to back my utility trailer. However, I don't use the trailer or the shorter bed enough to warrant the extra $$$ for the bigger truck. It's frustrating, but I can live with it........
Well your mileage may vary as the saying goes....
I'd recommend looking into the future as well......
I sold my F-250 7.3 2wd w/6.5 ft. bed.....took it for granted never appreciated how much I had learned to depend on it....
Now my 2014 Tundra Cm w/ 5.5 ' bed drives me crazy.Ah and life through a curve ball and we bought a few acres and moved into a barn with a studio apt. built in. SO now I'm hauling trees, loaded up with clearing tools to work in the pasture and it's a pain to be limited in space, ladders chain saws etc you get the picture.
If it had a 6.5' bed maybe I can suck up the poor mpg (13.8-14.9 combined)
So take your time run a few scenarios through your head and add that to your test drives. Don't know if you area is all suburbia or combination rural/suburb...... I drive wife's 4 rnr for errands and use truck for hauling and towing tractor etc.....
The mpgs made me come back and look over here but that's a different topic and don't want to hijack thread....best of luck on your purchase...it won't be from a lack of homework...keep it up lol..
Last edited by Chinookman; Sep 1, 2017 at 09:38 PM.
Reason: spelling
I had a 06 250 w the 8ft bed. LOVED THE SPACE
I now have 150 cc 5.5 I was skeptical on the bed, but I've got 2 small kids, so I wasn't going to skimp on interior space...
I love the interior, and the bed has hauled 95% of what I've needed to haul, including 16' trim and 12' deck boards. Sure more space would be nice, but I can make this work most of the time.
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